


take another breath

by daisy_chains



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Episode: s02e09 Lady of the Lake, Gaius' Eyebrow of Doom makes a brief appearance, Gen, I wrote this in about five minutes, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Not Beta Read, and only did minor edits, because I actually kinda like how it turned out, but do read it, so read at your own risk, so that's great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 06:51:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15043169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisy_chains/pseuds/daisy_chains
Summary: “There must be something we can do.”“Merlin, bounty hunters are dangerous men. They're not to be meddled with. You of all people should understand that.”Gaius should know better by now. Merlin can’t stay out of trouble, especially if his life depends on it.





	take another breath

Merlin hesitates, lost in the terrified gaze of the caged girl. How is he any better than Uther himself if he simply stands by and allows this person to be executed? If he’s this so-called Emrys, shouldn’t it be his duty to help _everyone_ and not a chosen few? 

The warlock glances back at Gaius, checking that the physician has not yet noticed his absence, then he turns back to the girl and with a flash of golden eyes, her shackles fall off. 

She has the presence of mind to catch them before they clatter onto the cage floor, for which he is grateful, but there is little she can do for the creaking that is sure to happen when he unlocks the cage itself, so Merlin makes quick work of it with another unspoken spell. 

“Good luck,” he whispers as the door opens just enough for her to see it is, in fact, unlocked. He runs to catch up with Gaius, glancing back only briefly to see the girl making her escape. Maybe he’ll see her again someday, have the chance to say thank you.

Thank you because she forced him to make his mind up on who he wants to be, how he wants to fulfill his destiny. Gaius and the dragon are wrong. Staying out of things won’t make anything better, not when he has the ability to do so much _good_. 

“What are you smiling about?” Gaius’ question drags him back to the real world, the Eyebrow greeting him with the physician’s usual suspicion. 

“Ah, you know,” Merlin responds, “illegal things.”

“Of course you are, my boy.” A huff of exasperation accompanies the words, but the fond half-smile belies any of the physician’s annoyance. “Now let’s get you home before you decide to do anything illegal.”

The warlock glances back at the now-empty cage with a wry grin. If only.

“Home sounds nice. Bed, too.”

**Author's Note:**

>  _Look out to the future_  
>  _But it tells you nothing_  
>  _So **take another breath**_  
> 
> Icarus by Bastille
> 
> I feel like this song kind of reflects Merlin in the earlier seasons (plus it’s one of my absolute favorite songs), so I decided to use these lyrics for the title. I couldn't figure out which bit would be best suited for the title, but titles have never been my strong suit to begin with, so that's really not surprising.


End file.
